The Feelings We Kept From Each Other
by music04life
Summary: After winning her dance contest, an offhanded comment by Chelsea sparks and argument between Stacie and Skipper. Stacie accidentally crosses the line and hurts Skipper's feelings, causing her to leave their hotel. However, the events that follow force both sisters to confront their insecurities when a storm causes Skipper to run into trouble and Stacie has to help rescue her.
1. The Argument

Note: This story takes place after _Barbie and Her Sisters in a Puppy Chase._

Disclaimer: Barbie and her sisters are property of Mattel Creations. I DO NOT own them.

Chapter 1: Argument

"And that's another one for my collection!" smiled Chelsea as Barbie took her picture with the trophy she had won in her most recent dance competition.

Barbie, Skipper, and Stacie laughed as Barbie took a look at the image on her phone that she had taken of Chelsea.

It was the afternoon after Chelsea had won a dance competition against her friend Lindsay and a few other girls in Hawaii with the help of a few horses, a show dog named Archibald, their puppies Taffy, DJ, Rookie, and Honey, and of course, her older sisters, Barbie, Skipper, and Stacie. Now, Chelsea and her sisters were back in their hotel reviewing the photos and videos that had been taken. Thanks to Skipper, the video of the competition had gone viral across the social media world and comments and likes were coming in like crazy.

Of course, their adventure hadn't come without its drawbacks, After arriving 2 days ago, Barbie had insisted on taking her sisters to a horse festival despite that all 3 of them were clearly opposed to it, instead having their own plans. Skipper wanted to work on her photo blog, Stacie had wanted to try out some island extreme sports, and Chelsea had wanted to practice her dance routine. Eventually, Barbie succeeded in sweet talking them into going. Despite losing their only map, they were able to find and watch the show, but then the puppies accidently hitched a ride in the horse trainers' car and their golf cart got stuck under a banyan tree forcing the sisters to camp out and find the puppies the next day. Unfortunately, their efforts were hampered by misfortune after misfortune including an abandoned town, cliffs, a flat tire, and a large ravine they had to zipline across. With help from the horse trainers, they managed to reach their hotel just in time for Chelsea to pull off her now viral dance routine and win the contest!

Back in the safety of their hotel room, the sisters surfed through the pictures they had taken on their mobile devices. Chelsea and Stacie swiped through the picture gallery on Stacie's phone when they came across an interesting photo.

"Hey Stacie, isn't that Skipper when she was on the zipline?" asked Chelsea, pointing to Stacie's phone screen.

It was Skipper back when they'd taken the zipline to get across the ravine, but she didn't look too thrilled. The photos had been taken when the zipline had stalled out halfway across with her on it. In the photo, Skipper's blue eyes were wide with fear and she was desperately trying to keep her grip on the metal bars as she looked down into the rushing river below her. She honestly looked like she was ready to cry.

 _Flashback:_

" _It stopped. Why did it stop?!" asked an anxious Skipper._

" _Swing your legs! You have to get your momentum going!" called Stacie._

 _Skipper looked down into the ravine and stared at the rushing river below her which would surely sweep her off to her death if the zipline were to fail. She could feel her grip beginning to loosen due to her lack of upper body strength._

" _I...I can't." she choked out staring at her sisters on the other side of the ravine._

 _Stacie just gave her older sister a teasing smirk. "Okay, enjoy the view then!" she laughed, pretending to walk away._

 _Back in the present..._

Stacie began to chuckle as she remembered the moment. "Oh man, that was so golden!" she laughed. "The look on Skipp's face!"

Hearing her name mentioned, Skipper looked up from her tablet. "Huh? What's so funny?" she asked.

"Stacie's laughing at a picture of you on the zipline" replied Chelsea.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Skipper as she got up and joined Stacie.

Skipper gasped when she looked at the picture on Stacie's phone screen. All the while, her younger sister laughed her head off at her reaction. Skipper's face turned red with embarrassment and she felt her chest beginning to tighten with tension.

"Stacie! Why did you take that?! That's not funny!" cried Skipper.

Stacie stopped laughing and gave Skipper a teasing smirk. "Yes it is Skipp, lighten up! Look at your face! You looked so scared, it's extreme!"

Skipper was lost for words. "N...no it's not Stac! And you think it's extreme? Is that all you can think about?! How extreme something is?!" she asked, her voice beginning to crack.

Stacie frowned up at her older sister. "No its not!" she insisted. "And you don't have to be such a wimp all the time Skipp. What do you think about all the time? Your tablet and your electronics, and your photo blog. That's boring!"

"No, its not boring! It's special! And what about all the photos I took of you that are on there? Are those boring?!" Skipper countered.

By now, Barbie and the puppies had taken notice of the argument. The puppies hid under the soda while Barbie tried to intervene. "Uh guys…" she said nervously.

"No, but you know what's boring?" asked Stacie, now scowling fiercely at Skipper. "YOU!" she burst out, pointing at Skipper. "You can never take jokes, all you sit around all day with your electronics, you're so lazy and no fun, and you can't even run fast enough to keep up with me! You're such a big geek and an even bigger wimp!"

The silence that followed was so excruciating that you could hear all 4 of the sisters' nervous heartbeats. Chelsea had joined the puppies behind the couch, Barbie stared in shock and pity at her 2 younger sisters, Stacie clutched her phone tightly, her eyes wide as she realized what she had said, and Skipper… well Skipper was struggling to hold back a flood of tears like a dam ready to burst. She felt the sides of her cheeks become sore and pain shoot out of her chest. After a few agonizing moments, Stacie was the first to speak.

"Skipp, I...I…" she stammered softly, but Skipper cut her off.

"You what Stac?! You're gonna call me wimpy?!" she sniffed. "WELL, GO AHEAD! KEEP THAT PHOTO! SHARE IT WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD AND TELL THEM WHAT A WIMP YOUR OLDER SISTER IS! SEE IF CARE!"

Before Barbie could say anything, Skipper grabbed her phone and ran out of the hotel room without looking back at her sisters, openly weeping.

"Skipp! Skipp, wait! Please! Come back!" cried Barbie, but Skipper was already long out of eye and hearing shot.

Behind her, Stacie looked gobsmacked and ashamed as he felt a tugging at her heart and a sinking feeling in her chest as she came to terms with the truth. It was her fault.

"I..I...I… didn't mean to hurt her feeling! Honest!" she cried as she felt the corners of her eyes become heavy with salty tears.

Barbie put her arms around her younger sister. "I know Stac." she said comfortingly. "You didn't mean to hurt her feelings, but you did. You hurt them really bad. I know that you just want Skipp to have fun, but you need to know that she's not going to like the same things as you. And it's no reason to tease her either. Everyone has their own comfort zone and while it is good to learn to take risks, it's also unhealthy to force others out of their shells so-to-speak. And that's exactly what you've done multiple times." Barbie finished a bit reprimandingly.

At the same time, Chelsea came out from behind the couch with the puppies in tow. "Barbie, it's my fault." she said softly looking up at her oldest sister. "If I hadn't pointed out the picture on Stacie's phone, none of this would've happened."

Barbie responded by pulling Chelsea into a hug. "No it's not Chels. " she said comfortingly, but firmly. "No one blames you and no one ever will."

"Barbie's right Chels. It's my fault. I went over the line when I called Skipp a wimp." said Stacie, now very ashamed.

Chelsea looked out the window, nervously. "Barbie, will Skipper come back?" she asked.

Barbie looked out the window. The sun was setting, but there was still some light out on the beach that simmered off the ocean in the foreground.

"Yes, she will Chels." Barbie replied. "I hope" she added softly.

As the girls settled in for the night, the puppies had worries of their own, especially DJ.

"Poor Skipper!" she said to Rookie, Taffy, and Honey. "What if she doesn't come back?"

Honey gave her sister a reassuring stare. "Don't worry DJ. Didn't you hear what Barbie said? Skipper will come back later tonight."

"Yeah, I hope." said DJ softly as the puppies began heading into the girls' bedrooms to join them for the night.

DJ headed towards Skipper's room when she realized that there was no Skipper for her to sleep with.

"Looks like I'm all alone." she sighed.

"No you're not." said a voice from behind her. It was Rookie.

"You can stay with me and Stacie tonight." Rookie offered.

DJ gave a grateful smile "Thanks Rookie! You're the best!" she grinned as the 2 puppies headed into Stacie's room.

On her bed, Stacie stared out the window, longing for her older sister to return soon so she could finally apologize. Giving an exasperated sigh, she laid down sideways on the bed until she was joined by 2 familiar puppies who climbed up and cuddled on either side of her.

"Thanks Rookie! Thanks DJ!" said Stacie smiling gratefully. "I really needed this."

As the sun finally set, the 3 sisters and their puppies all fell into an uneasy, restless sleep.

 _To be continued..._


	2. Encounter with Trouble

Skipper kept on running and running until she was far away from the hotel in the forest. Perched up on a ledge overlooking the forest, hotel, and beach, she watched the sun's last rays glisten off the vast ocean in the foreground.

"Why would Stacie call me a wimp and a geek? Sure I'm obsessed with tech, but at least I can socialize! Sort of." she said to no one in particular.

Skipper thought about what Stacie had to her in the hotel and the sisters experience on the zipline.

"Easy for Stacie to do. She's not afraid of heights. Or dying. Or anything." Skipper grumbled. "And why is she always so competitive? We had just gotten here when she invented a new sport called 'snorfling' at the airport! Why can't she just accept me for who I am? My life isn't as exciting as hers, but I'm okay with it that way."

A though suddenly occurred to her. And it wasn't a good one. _All of my sisters have more exciting lives than I do! Barbie owns one of the world's largest fashion businesses, Stacie is an extreme sports guru who'll be an Olympic athlete, and Chelsea is very smart. A lot smarter than I probably ever was when I was 6 and she just won a dance contest! She's on her way to becoming the next Barbie. And what about me? I play video games, run a blog, take pictures and make and direct movies as a semi-profession, and sit around and play music. Well, I guess the directing movies part is neat, but what about all the rest? I look like a slacker compared to them, especially Barbie! I don't own a business or do extreme sports or win dance competitions!_ She thought becoming frustrated.

Skipper became so upset that she ran up to the nearest tree and tried ripping one of the low hanging branches that had some mangoes on it, but the branch held strong. When she accidentally let it go, the branch flew up sending mangoes flying into the air and raining down. Several of them hit Skipper's head.

"Ow! Ow! OW! OW!" she yelled in pain as the mangoes struck her head and the back of her neck. "Urrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!"

She tried calming down, only to become more uptight. _Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! I can't even take down a measly little tree branch! Or keep the mangoes from beating me up! I got beaten up by freaking fruit!_ Skipper sat at the base of the tree and calmed down.

"Heeeeeehhhhhhh… Stacie's right. I am a wimp." Skipper sighed.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that it was now dark outside until she heard the sound of macaws in the distance from the trees behind her. She also hadn't noticed her stomach growling. By the time she did, it was very late. Skipper pulled out her phone to check the time.

"Niine forty-five already?" she said. "Man, I'm really hungry right now."

She considered going back to the hotel, but she wasn't ready to face Stacie yet. Looking in her pockets, she found 2 pieces of chewing gum and a lollipop. Looking on the ground, there were several mangoes that had fallen out of the tree branch when she tried to take it down earlier.

"Meh, food is food. I'll be those mangoes are good." Skipper shrugged as she grabbed 2 mangoes and the candy from her pocket.

The mangoes turned out to be very sweet, juicy, and best of all, filling. Along with the candy, Skipper's stomach was soon full and she rested against the trunk of the large mango tree as she looked down at the forest, beach, and ocean in the foreground from her hilltop perch. It was now totally dark outside, save for the light coming from the large, silver full moon. The moon's rays seemed to light up the beach in the distance, making it look greyish and silver. Beyond the beach, the moonlight shimmered on the ocean's surface, highlighting the dancing waves. Skipper relaxed. It was now 11:00 pm according to her phone. She began to feel woozy and tired. Still not wanting to head back to the hotel, Skipper decided to do the next best thing: camp out.

" I guess I'll sleep here until tomorrow." Skipper yawned as she stretched out and leaned between 2 large tree roots before drifting off to sleep.

The night progressed calmly until about 3 in the morning. Unbeknownst to Skipper, dark storm clouds began to overshadow the moon, eating up all the light that she had seen earlier before going to sleep. Then, heat lightning lit up the sky over the island, creating a brilliant, but intimidating show of orang-yellow light. Finally, the rain came. At first, Skipper didn't notice it because she'd fallen into a deep sleep until she was awoken by a loud crack of thunder. Startled, she looked around before remembering where she was. The thunder continued and then, the rain came down.

"On no, rain!" cried Skipper. She looked around for shelter, but there was none. "I'll have to get back to the hotel before it gets too bad!"

With that, Skipper started down the path that led down the hill into the forest that lay behind the hotel and beach. The rain began to come down heavier as Skipper forged her way ahead with no protection from it. Unfortunately, the rain had made the path downwards slick and slippery. There was almost nothing to grab onto as Sipper nearly slid several times, but was able to maintain her balance. She was almost halfway down the hill path when disaster struck. There was a very steep curve ahead and the this part of the trail was made out of flat rocks that had become slippery with the rainwater. Skipper didn't notice until she began slipping on her approach to the bend. Then, it happened. Skipper lost her balance and slid down the path towards the bend.

"Whoa! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" she cried as she fell, landing on her back.

Skipper continued to slide until she slid right off the trail and crashed through the wet underbrush of the forest around it. Crashing through and flattening various small plants, Skipper tumbled down a hill until she landed in a pool of something that felt like drenched sand.

"Ohhhhhhh… that hurt." she groaned as she pulled herself up.

Or tried to. Whatever she had landed in held her fast and was up to her waist. Skipper tried pulling herself up and out, but she was unable to do so alone. Her left hand and arm were also trapped in the compact, sand-like substance.

"Ugh, why can't I get up?!" she cried, now a bit scared. "There's nothing else that can hold someone in like this except...OH NO! QUICKSAND!"

Skipper, now aware of the danger that she was in desperately tried even harder to pull herself out, but couldn't. All she did was continued to sink deeper. Skipper managed to keep her right hand out of the quicksand, but it was now up to her lower neck. _I'm doomed! There's no getting out of this!_ Skipper braced herself for the sand to rise above her nose and mouth and suffocate her, but suddenly, she stopped sinking, as she felt her feet hit the bottom.

"I've...I've… stopped.?" she gasped, relieved and surprised. "All right, time to get out of here!"

Skipper renewed here struggles, but she was well and truly trapped. _Oh no! What if I can't get out of here! What if no one finds me?! I'll starve and dehydrate! I'm gonna die out here if I don't get rescued! Get a grip Skipp! You're 16. Get someone's attention!_

Skipper sucked in a breath before screaming as loud as she could. "IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE? HELP! I'M STUCK IN QUICKSAND! HELP ME, PLEASE! SOMEONE!" she cried,but it was no use.

There was no one around and the cracking thunder drowned out her cries for help. The rain began coming down heavier soaking Skipper to the bone and completely drenching her. Giving up, Skipper stared down at the quicksand that held her prisoner, demoralized, exhausted, cold and soaked. _Stacie really was right about me. I'm a klutz and now I'm trapped. I can't do anything strong or athletic physically. I can't even save myself!_ Skipper tried hard, but ultimately couldn't stop her tears from falling, mixing in with the rain that unleashed its wrath upon her, and the quicksand that continued to threatened her life.

 _Meanwhile in the hotel…_

A loud crack of thunder awoke Barbie, Stacie, and Chelsea along with the puppies. All of them decided to huddle in Barbie's room for comfort. As they moved in close to each other, they realized that Skipper hadn't returned. Stacie was the most worried of all.

"Barbie, do you think Skipp's okay out there?" asked Stacie with a worried tone. "It's coming down really hard out there."

"Yeah, what if she gets hurt?" asked Chelsea, who was equally as worried as she looked up at Barbie.

Although they did not interact that much, Chelsea missed Skipper terribly. Skipper was the one who took all the best pictures of her, filmed all of her and Barbie's hair and craft tutorials for Barbie's blog and found the best music to download to their favorite game _Just Dance_. Skipper's tech expertise was the reason for her and her sisters' fame on the internet. The puppies barked their agreements with Stacie and Chelsea. Barbie looked out the window. She was especially worried for Skipper. Skipper hated thunderstorms when she was little and Barbie had often found herself having many unexpected sleepovers with her timid younger sister. Even though she was now 16, they still gave her a good startle. Not to mention it was dangerous to be outside during thunderstorms, especially tropical ones.

"Don't worry guys. I'm sure she found shelter someplace and is fine right now. She'll come back in the morning. If not, we'll go look for her. I promise." said Barbie, her voice shaking a bit.

Laying back down, Barbie remembered the night they had camped out 2 nights ago and it began raining after getting stranded near the horse festival grounds. She also recalled the previous night when they had gotten lost and couldn't find their way to the hotel for Chelsea's dance contest. After Barbie had confessed that she was scared and didn't know what else they could do, it was Skipper who had reassured her it was okay to be scared and that she understood.

 _Flashback:_

" _You could've just told us you were scared." said Stacie._

" _Yeah Barbie, we're sisters! We get it!" smiled Skipper._

Skipper's word played over and over in Barbie's head like a haunting tape recorder. " _Yeah Barbie, we're sisters! We get it!"_ Rolling over, Barbie decided to watch the rain fall outside the balcony window of her bedroom until she could go to sleep. _Oh Skipp. Wherever you are, I hope that you're dry and safe! Please, come back!_

That of course, was not the case.

 _To be continued..._

Author's Notes:

What do you guys think so far? Also, the trailer for the new dreamhouse adventures series was releases and I think the release date is now May 18 on Netflix. Check it out when it comes out!


	3. Rescue and Reconcile

Chapter 3: Rescue and Reconcile

The sun rose the next morning to reveal a scene of a few downed trees, soaked landscape, chairs, and other objects strewn about the courtyard of the hotel. In her hotel room, Barbie stretched out her arms and legs having just woke up. She was about to head to the bathroom to freshen up when a sudden cry startled her out of her thoughts along with the sound of frantic barking.

"Barbie! Skipper's still gone!" cried Chelsea as she, Stacie, and the puppies ran into Barbie's room.

"She's still not back! What if something happened to her out there!?" added Stacie.

Barbie was now fully awake and extremely worried. _What if something really did happen to Skipper?_ She immediately began to create a plan.

"Okay guys. Since she's still not back, we'll get dressed and look for her. For now, get ready." she instructed her sisters, who rushed off to get dressed.

Barbie changed out of her PJ's and into a pink pair of shorts and a white shirt with a tropical floral pattern. She grabbed her phone and left her room to join her 2 younger sisters and the puppies before gobbling down one of Stacie's energy bars and heading out the door with them. Within minutes, they arrived at the beach in front of the hotel.

"Okay guys. We'll check around the beach for now. Then, we'll look in the hotel just in case Skipper came back." said Barbie looking around.

"What if she's not at any of those places?" asked Chelsea worriedly.

"Then we'll check the forest. She may have gone up the path to Lookout Ridge on the hill last night." replied Barbie.

With the plan agreed upon, the sisters and their puppies began searching up and down the beach. They made their way past some early morning joggers, but of course, Skipper wasn't among them. Then, they searched all over the hotel, splitting up to cover more ground. Barbie and Taffy searched the upstairs floors, Chelsea and Honey searched outside in the courtyard, and Stacie, DJ, and Rookie searched the lobby area and Skipper's favorite place in the entire hotel: the internet cafe. Being in the internet cafe only reminded Stacie of how her older sister loved Wi-Fi, internet, video gaming, and coffee. Earlier, Skipper had told Barbie that she wanted to stay in one place to work on her photo blog. Being in Skipper's favorite place only pained Stacie even further. _Oh, Skipp, why did I call you a geek?_ Stacie thought miserably as she laid her head down on one of the tables as DJ and Rookie sat at her feet. A hand on her shoulder startled her out her thoughts. Stacie looked up to see Barbie's concerned face staring back at her.

"I guess you guys didn't find her." said Stacie glumly to Barbie and Chelsea.

Barbie only nodded in reply. "Don't worry Stac. We'll find her. I promise." she said softly.

"Yeah." said Chelsea. "We still have to check around the forest and up to the ridge."

Stacie lifted her head and turned around to face her 2 sisters. "But what if she's not in the forest or on the ridge? What'll we do?!" she asked, her bright green eyes wide with worry.

Barbie and Chelsea looked at each other and sighed. "If we can't find her, we'll have to file a missing person report with the police so they can help us look for her." said Barbie grimly. "But let's not go there just yet. Let's go look on the forest path."

Stacie nodded and got up to join Barbie, Chelsea, and the puppies as they left the hotel and hiked up towards the forest path.

 _Meanwhile…_

Skipper began to wake up. Blinking her eyes, she saw the sun was out and it had stopped raining, although she was still a bit wet. _I must've fallen asleep_. She thought. Skipper tried to stretch, but then realized she couldn't. Her left arm, both her legs, and her entire body up to her lower neck were trapped in a shallow vat of quicksand. Her memory began to return as she recalled the events from the previous night. The argument, the storm, and falling and getting trapped. Skipper tried again to move, but to no avail. The quicksand held strong.

Skipper looked around. There was no one in the vicinity aside from the trees and plants growing up alongside the quicksand vat. As she felt her stomach growl, she remembered just how dire her situation was.

"Oh no, I need water and food real bad! What if no one finds me?! I'll starve!" she thought aloud.

She also remembered that an average person could go 3 days without water. _If no one finds me within 3 days, I'll die of dehydration! And it may be even shorter than that! It's getting hot out here!_ And it was. With the sun continuing to rise higher in the sky, the temperature and humidity were both rising rapidly. Skipper already began to feel beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead and neck, rolling down onto her face.

Then, she felt something else on her. Something crawling on her shoulder. Skipper glanced over at her right shoulder and instantly regretted it. Perched on her shoulder was a large brown spider with green markings on its back. _Oh my gosh, NO!_ Skipper tried desperately to wiggle a bit to shake it off, but the spider wouldn't budge. She then tried to using her free arm to reach over and flick it off, but it was just out of reach. The spider then began to crawl ominously towards Skipper's neck. _OH NO! NO! NO! NO! IT'S GONNA BITE ME AND KILL ME WITH ITS VENOM!_

Panicked, Skipper screamed as loud as she could. "HELP! A SPIDER'S ON ME! IT'S GONNA KILL ME! I'M GONNA DIE! SOMEONE! PLEASE! HELP ME!" she shrieked in terror, but no one replied or heard her.

Skipper closed her eyes as tight as she could and waited for the fatal bite. A river of tears streamed down her cheeks and she felt her nose become stuffy as she saw her life flash in front of her, from dancing at Chelsea's dance competition to all the fun times she had with Barbie, Chelsea, and even Stacie. Skipper desperately wished Barbie could be there holding her and telling her everything was going to be okay like she had during thunderstorms when they were younger back in Willows. Finally, she imagined the news headlines:

" _Teen Blogger Found Dead in Quicksand Vat of Spider Bite"_

" _Hawaii Tourist Trap Traps and Kills Teen Girl"_

" _World-Famous Fashion Designer Barbara "Barbie" Roberts Quits Job; Sells Multinational Firm Grieving Loss of Younger Sister"_

Skipper couldn't take it anymore. She let out a panicked ear splitting scream that echoed throughout the whole forest sending birds flying out of the trees. Her scream was so loud that even far from far away, 3 girls heard it.

Barbie, Stacie, Chelsea and their puppies had started hiking up the path to Lookout Ridge where unbeknownst to them, Skipper had camped out the previous night. They were ¼ of the way up, but Chelsea was already getting tired.

"Whew! It's getting hot out here and I'm getting sore!" she gasped, taking a massive gulp from her canteen.

Stacie wanted to tease Chelsea for getting tired so quickly, but remembering what she had said to Skipper earlier, she held her tongue. Instead, she went back and took Chelsea's hand to help her up.

"I've got ya Chels." smiled Stacie as she helped Chelsea along up the hill.

Barbie smiled seeing Stacie learning her lesson and helping Chelsea. As Stacie and Chelsea caught up to her, all 3 of them and the puppies heard an ear piercing scream not too far away. Their eyes widened as they recognized whose it was!

"SKIPPER? SKIPPER!" cried Stacie.

Without hesitation, she let go of Chelsea and tore up the path. Behind her, Barbie, Chelsea, and the puppies followed as fast as they could.

"Stacie, wait up!" called Barbie. "Skipp! Skipp! We're coming!" she yelled.

The 3 sisters and the puppies raced up the trail until they came to a bend about ½ of the way to the ridge at the top of the hill.

"It came from this way!" cried Stacie as she jumped off the path and began sprinting through the undergrowth.

Barbie, Chelsea, and the puppies ran after her. Barbie noticed that the undergrowth on the path that Stacie was going had been trampled the previous night. Maybe Skipper had went this way after all!

A short distance away, Skipper was still shaking as she felt the spider crawl onto her neck and stay there. _What is it doing? Isn't it going to kill me?_ Just then, she heard 2 familiar voices yelling in the distance.

"SKIPPER? SKIPPER!" one of them yelled.

"Skipp? Skipp! We're coming!" said the other one.

 _It's Barbie, Stacie, Chelsea and the pups! They heard me!_ "Stacie! I'm here! Help me please! I'm trapped!" cried Skipper as she renewed her struggles.

Seconds later, an 11 year old girl with straight blonde hair wearing a white band it, a multi-colored shirt the the letter 'S' on the front, and a brown fanny pack full of energy bars burst through the vegetation and stopped just short of the pit edge. Upon seeing Skipper, her face broke out into a huge, relieved smile.

"SKIPP!" cried Stacie. "You're alright! I found you!"

Skipper was lost for words as the 2 briefly forgot about their fight the previous night. She locked eyes with her younger sister and reached her free hand out to Stacie, who reached over and took it eagerly.

"Stacie! You found me!" cried Skipper as she squeezed Stacie's hand tightly.

Just then, Barbie, Chelsea, and the puppies arrived behind Stacie. Barbie and Chelsea's faces lit up with relieved grins.

"SKIPPER!" cried Barbie and Chelsea simultaneously as the puppies barked excitedly behind them.

DJ was the most excited of all! "We found Skipper!" she barked excitedly to her siblings, who all agreed.

DJ wanted to jump into Skipper's arms, but Skipper saw it coming. "DJ, no! You'll get stuck like me!" she cried, sensing DJ getting ready to jump over. DJ saw Skipper's plight and backed off.

"Good girl!" smiled Skipper. "Speaking of which, can you guys help me out?" she asked her sisters. "AND GET THIS SPIDER OFF ME! PLEASE!"

Barbie then spoke up. "We have to get her out of there!" she said to Stacie and Chelsea. "Chelsea, take Stacie's other hand, I'll take your left hand. On 3 we'll pull Skipper out." instructed Barbie.

Her sisters nodded and got into position with Chelsea taking Stacie's left hand, and finally, Barbie taking Chelsea's left hand.

"Okay! One...Two...THREE!" said Barbie as the 3 sisters began to tug with all their might.

It took a few minutes, but slowly, Skipper's body began to emerge out of the quicksand. Finally, they pulled their sister free and dragged her away from the quicksand vat. The spider jumped off Skipper's shoulder and skittered off. Skipper was a mess. Her pink 'Paradise' shirt was torn from tumbling down the hill during the storm, her hair and body were covered in wet sand, and her face was red from both sunburn and crying. Skipper tried getting up, but Stacie was quick to help her.

"Here Skipp, let me help you!" smiled Stacie as she took on of Skipper's arms and pulled her older sister to her feet.

As soon as she was able to stand on her own, Skipper ran over to Barbie, almost knocking her older sister over and gave her one of the tightest hugs she had ever had!

"Barbie! You guys found me!" she cried.

Barbie gave a relieved grin. "It's okay Skipp, I've got you! Everything is going to be alright!" she said in a comforting voice as Skipper buried her face into her older sister's chest.

When she felt better, Skipper breathed a heavy sigh, backed up and dusted herself off. "Thanks for the help Stac." she said hesitantly, smiling gratefully, but avoiding eye contact.

Stacie then knew what she had to to. She took Skipper's hand and looked directly into her eyes.

"Skipp, I'm really sorry for last night. I didn't mean to call you a geek and a wimp. And what you said made me think. Maybe I have been way too reckless and competitive lately. I took advantage of your fear on the zipline and used it to tease you. I didn't realize it could've been a life or death situation." she said to her older sister.

Skipper was surprised. "Uh, wow Stac." she said, unable to figure out how to respond. "But why did you call me a geek and a wimp?"

Silence followed and Stacie almost looked like she was ready to cry. "Because...because...I'm the dumbest in the family!" she burst out. "I can't design stuff like Barbie, solve problems and bring out the good in people like Chelsea, or create things like you Skipp! All I can do is play sports! All my puns are lame! It was my impulsiveness that caused me to try out the zipline without doing any safety checks. I...I...I just can't think like the rest of you, and I tried making myself feel better about well...me." she finished softly.

Barbie, Skipper, and Chelsea were in shock, especially Skipper. While it was true that Stacie wasn't as bright as herself, Skipper had no idea that Stacie was jealous of the her, Barbie, and Chelsea. Personally, Skipper had always been jealous of Stacie for her fast reflexes, stamina, and sports skills.

"Stac, is that why you were such a control freak not to long ago? Because you thought you weren't good for anything else? And why you cracked up so many lame puns earlier in our trip?" asked Skipper.

Stacie just sniffed and nodded, ashamed. Behind them, Barbie watched the scene unfold with almost as much shock as Skipper. Since when had Stacie been jealous of her? Feeling only pity for her younger sister, Barbie moved forward and wrapped Stacie in a hug.

"Stac, no one here thinks or ever thought you were stupid." Barbie spoke in a soothing, reassuring voice.

"Yeah Stacie!" added Chelsea joining the hug. "You're always so cool with your surfing, your skateboarding, and your… everything really!

Skipper tapped on Barbie's shoulder and one look at her face was all Barbie needed to know. She moved aside to allow her younger sister hug Stacie.

"Stacie, look at me. You're not stupid. You're one of the most adventurous people I know. It's just.. you can be a little bit uh… intense sometimes. I've always loved how your physical strength could solve certain problems. And I'll admit that I've always been a bit jealous of you for that. And yes, of course I forgive you Stac!" said Skipper.

Stacie looked into her older sister's soft blue eyes. "Thanks Skipp. I guess I am a bit intense sometimes."

Skipper then grinned. "You know all the amazing pictures I get to post on my blog? Almost all of them are from crazy adventures that you dragged me into! You're The reason for many of the pictures on my travel blog!"

Instantly, Stacie's tears vanished and she began to both laugh and cry. "You got me Skipp! Heck yeah I'm the one who drags you all over the place!" she smiled.

Barbie Chelsea, and the puppies watched the 2 sisters embrace, laugh and cry from afar. DJ and Rookie took the opportunity to run up to their owners and give them a slobber attack!

"So Barbie, where's my hug?" asked Chelsea with a cheeky grin.

Barbie smirked back at her youngest sister. "Right...HERE!" she laughed as she grabbed Chelsea in a bear hug.

Seeing this, Skipper, Stacie, and their puppies Taffy, DJ, Rookie, and Honey ran over and tackled them both to the ground where they landed in a laughing heap. After a few minutes, they all got up.

"Alright! What do you say we get you back to the hotel to get you cleaned up Skipp?" offered Barbie.

Skipper looked down at herself. She was still covered in sand, her wet hair was matted against her back in tangles, and her shirt was torn.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea right about now!" she replied as the began making their way back to the hotel.

 _Epilogue:_

"By the way, what kind of spider was on me?" asked Skipper as they headed down the hill.

Barbie thought for a moment. "I think it was a Tropical Sweat Sucker. They're completely harmless!"

Before Barbie could continue, Stacie jumped in.

"Yeah! It must have been after all of your sweat Skipp! Not to mention that and the quicksand both really sucked! Eh?! Anybody?! " she giggled.

This time, her sisters caught on with the pun and all laughed. "Yes! So nailed that one!" celebrated Stacie.

Remembering Skipper had been out all night, Stacie knew that her older sister probably needed something in her stomach and soon.

"I know you don't like these, but… energy bar? Stacie asked, offering Skipper and energy bar.

Before Stacie could react, Skipper snatched it out of her hand.

"Gimme that!" cried Skipper as she ripped the cellophane wrapper off and snarfed it down. It was gone in seconds.

"Wow! Not even I can eat them that fast!" said Stacie in amazement. "You should sign up for eating contests Skipp!"

But Skipper didn't reply. Instead, she just stared down at Stacie's fanny pack.

"Uh Skipp, is anything wrong?" asked Stacie worriedly.

But Skipper just kept on staring with blank expression and eyes as wide as plates. Then, she began to advance ominously on her younger sister, her stomach wailing, demanding to be filled.

"Need more food." she said in a somewhat desperate tone. "Gimme the food."

Stacie begnan to get nervous. "Whoa, Skipp, um, take it easy there!" she said as she backed up.

Suddenly, Skipper reached out for Stacie, who moved aside just in time.

"Uh, Skipp, relax will ya? Please?!" cried Stacie as she made a break for it down the trail with Skipper on her heels. "No! Stop! Barbie help me! Do something!" she begged.

"Gimme the food!" yelled Skipper as she pursued her younger sister.

Behind them, Barbie and Chelsea laughed as the puppies decided to join in the chase. "Sorry Stac! You're on your own!" laughed Barbie as she and Chelsea hurried to stop Skipper from eating both the all the energy bars (and maybe even Stacie with them!) and enjoy the rest of their vacation!

 _Fin!_

Author's Notes: So, what did you guys think? Feel free to comment!


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